Huawei's flagship has stunned the world with its brilliant design, incredible triple rear camera and fast Kirin 980 processor.

New technology such as reverse wireless charging has also added to the appeal of this smartphone with this unique feature allowing other devices to get a wire-free refill using the Mate's giant 4,200mAh battery.

All of these upgrades have made the Mate 20 one of the best phones of 2018 but it seems there is a problem with this device and it could affect many more smartphones next year.

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In a bid to rid the rear case of the fingerprint scanner, Huawei has finally moved this vital sensor back to the front of the phone and has done this by embedding it under the display.

This security feature is something many smartphone users have been waiting for as the rear placement has never been as convenient to use.

Express.co.uk has tested the Mate 20 Pro's in-screen sensor and has been left very impressed by its speed and overall accuracy.

In our recent review, we stated: "The Chinese flagship is by far the most innovative of 2018 thanks to its futuristic in-display fingerprint reader, surprisingly functional reverse wireless charging feature and flexible array of cameras.

"In a period where smartphones appear to be struggling to introduce industry-altering innovations and noteworthy changes, the Mate 20 Pro gives consumers a score of great features to get excited about."

However, it seems there is a problem with this new technology and it's something that could affect plenty of users in the coming year.

A recent test by YouTube star Jerry Rigs Everything has exposed that the Mate 20's fingerprint scanner can stop working if the screen is cracked.

During the trial, the Mate 20's screen shattered when put through a simple bend test and, once fractured, the fingerprint sensor was rendered useless.

Huawei has confirmed that cracks in the screen can affect the sensor's ability to scan with the fingerprint reader not working to its full potential if a display gets damaged.

Huawei isn't the only company launching embedded fingerprint scanners with OnePlus, Xiaomi and Oppo all announcing their own devices with this in-built technology.

It's thought that even more smartphone makers could follow in 2019 with Samsung also expected to be including something similar on the Galaxy S10.

If all of these new phones suffer similar issues it could be hugely frustrating for users especially as a cracked display is a fairly common occurrence.

One ray of hope is the introduction of ultrasonic sensors which are thought to be more accurate than the current optical sensors found on most current devices.

Qualcomm recently announced the launch of its new ultrasonic scanner which the US firm says offers a six times more accurate biometric performance, lower power consumption and unprecedented wet and contaminated finger performance.

We'll have to wait and see if these new scanners help to combat the problem found with optical sensors but if you're thinking of buying a new phone with an embedded scanner it's worth taking extra care to protect it from damage.